Casting Call (Off Screen Book 5)

by J. A. Armstrong

  Dana nodded. “Don’t you two ever argue?”

  Emma burst out laughing. Addison pursed her lips. “Try convincing her that a turkey sandwich will not produce a child with three heads,” Emma said. “And, that you don’t need to drink the Great Lakes on a daily basis.”

  “No deli meat,” Addison said. “Unless you nuke it.”

  Emma shook her head. “I am not Karen Silkwood,” Emma returned, momentarily forgetting Dana’s presence.

  “And, you read the books! Water, water, water,” Addison said.

  Emma rolled her eyes. “If I drink any more water, Addy, I will be able to replenish the Sahara.”

  Dana laughed. “Is this a typical conversation in the Blake house?”

  “Yes,” Emma and Addison both answered.

  “Well, if and when Off Screen does have its ending, I think we can safely say the Blake’s have a future in comedy,” Dana said to the camera. “Thank you for joining us. Thanks to Addy and Emma for taking some time out from their holiday celebrations to chat with us. We’ll see you in two weeks when I turn the tables on the ever popular talk show host, Jennifer Daly. Until then, Merry Christmas.”

  ***

  Addison, Emma, and Emma’s family were gathered around the television as Addy and Emma’s interview finished. Emma rested her head on Addison’s shoulder contentedly. Her nephew Evan slept in Addison’s lap.

  “What do you think?” Emma’s brother Jackson asked his sister.

  “I think it’s time for bed, for all of us,” Emma said.

  “Do you think it will shut down the lawsuit?” Jackson asked.

  “I don’t know,” Emma said. “And, I don’t care. Time to move on now. That’s what lawyers are for.” She stood up, stretched and smiled at her family. “I’m turning in.” She leaned down and kissed Addison gently. “See you in a few.” Addison nodded and carefully lifted Evan to hand to his father.

  “Addy? What do you think?” Tom Bronson asked.

  “What she said,” Addison answered. “It’s the past as far as I am concerned. He’ll do what he wants to do. We can’t sit around worrying about it anymore.”

  “You are actually okay with things?” Tom asked.

  Addison looked at Emma’s family. “Like I said, too many things to look forward to. See you in the morning,” she said.

  “Hey, you were fast,” Emma commented when Addison entered the bedroom and closed the door.

  Addison shed her clothes and climbed into the bed beside Emma. “Merry Christmas, Em,” she said with a kiss.

  “Merry Christmas, love,” Emma said. She leaned in and captured Addison’s lips again. Her hands dropped to Addison’s back and pulled her closer. “I have an early present for you,” she said.

  “Oh?” Addison asked.

  “Mm-hm,” Emma said. She shifted their positions and straddled Addison’s waist. “I am not giving this up until I absolutely have to.”

  “What’s that?” Addison smirked. She was delighted to find a naked Emma awaiting her arrival.

  Emma’s hands cupped Addison’s breasts. She lowered her mouth over Addison’s again for an ardent kiss. Slowly, her lips strayed to Addison’s throat, then her neck, and her shoulder. Addison was breathless. Emma watched her wife’s eyes close slightly and her lips part. She tenderly sucked Addison’s nipple between her teeth and flicked it lightly with the tip of her tongue. Addison sighed heavily and reached out for Emma. Emma felt Addison beginning to sit up and pushed her back down. Intimacy had been a challenge for a while. Late work days tired Emma more than normal, particularly when she was battling persistent nausea. Schedules had conflicted. It had been a few weeks since Emma had made love to Addison. She wanted to feel the woman beneath her desperately.

  “No,” Emma said. “I’ve missed you, Addy. Missed touching you. Missed feeling you. Missed making love to you.”

  Addison smiled warmly. “I missed you too.”

  Emma’s fingers played with both of Addison’s nipples. “I need to make love to you,” she said softly. Addison sucked in a ragged breath and closed her eyes in submission. Emma’s kiss instantly found its way back to Addison’s breasts. She licked, and tasted, and teased Addison for what Addison thought might have been hours. Hours passed within minutes. Time was somehow lost to them both when they made love. “Em, you feel so good,” Addison breathed.

  Emma sighed and let her kisses fall like raindrops down Addison’s middle. She tasted the skin beneath her with abandon, softly but thoroughly. “So soft,” Emma whispered as her hand brushed over Addison’s center. “So, beautiful,” Emma said.

  “Em,” Addison moaned.

  Emma’s fingers danced over Addison’s thighs, then massaged up and down her calves as her lips reverently kissed the crease of Addison’s thighs. She wanted to take her time, but Addison consumed her. She had missed Addison. The truth was, sometimes she missed Addison when they were in the same room. It was a strange sensation, feeling completely connected and still never close enough to someone. For a while, Emma thought that it was a feeling that would fade over time, somehow contentment would replace it. Emma was content in her relationship with Addison. She felt safe and loved and cherished. She was not complacent about that. There was never a second of doubt in her mind that Addison was the person she was meant to spend her life with. The world could turn upside down and sometimes it did. Addison was a constant.

  “Addy?” Emma called. Addison opened her eyes and looked at Emma whose eyes glistened slightly in the moonlight. Addison smiled. “I love you,” Emma said.

  “I love you,” Addison promised.

  Emma’s hands wrapped around Addison’s waist and pulled her close. She kissed Addison’s thigh and then placed several faint kisses over Addison’s center before moving to relieve the ache that she was certain had taken up residence in them both. Addison’s body moved against her will and Emma held her tighter. She tasted Addison slowly and tenderly. Softly and persistently Emma interchanged light kisses with a skilled exploration of the woman she loved. Emma’s touch set Addison’s entire body on fire. She began to writhe beneath Emma. Emma pulled her even closer and Addison gasped. Emma was making love to her as if she had never touched Addison before. She could hear Emma’s muffled sighs. Addison wanted to reach for Emma and turn them about, but Emma was holding her so tightly and sending her soaring so high, that she could not mount any protest. She looked down at Emma and then closed her eyes.

  “Em…”

  Emma reached up with her hand and tugged slightly at one of Addison’s nipples. Addison bit down on her lip to keep from screaming. Her legs were quivering. A deep burning that started in her chest had spread through her body like a raging fire that consumes everything in its path and had settled directly beneath Emma’s tongue. Emma felt the tension in Addison’s body as Addison’s hips rose of their own accord. Her own hips moved and she positioned herself over Addison’s leg. Addison lifted her knee and her heart rate quickened at the warmth of Emma’s arousal as it greeted her. Addison moved her leg in time with the pace of Emma’s hips and licking. Emma’s searching and exploring was becoming more urgent with each second that passed.

  Emma could scarcely believe how desperate she felt to bring them both release. It was becoming difficult for her to concentrate. Every nerve in her body had come to attention. She felt Addison’s hands as they gently raked over her back and nearly had to pull back to catch her breath. Emma’s body had already begun to tremble slightly just as Addison’s erupted in a series of powerful shudders. Emma held on as tightly as she could manage until she felt Addison move deliberately. Emma was taken by surprise when Addison immediately pulled her up and lifted Emma’s hips to settle above her.

  “Oh, God!” Emma tried to suppress a scream. Addison’s fingers stroked her breasts and fondled her nipples gently. Addison’s tongue bathed her in a flurry of sensation. Emma wanted to hold on, to ride the wave between them, but it had already crested and she was helplessly washed away. “Addy,” she barely
managed as her body gave over to the woman she loved.

  Addison slowed her pace and gentled her touch further, releasing Emma slowly. Emma was breathless and a bit dizzy. She collapsed into Addison’s arms and held on. “Are you all right?” Addison asked.

  “Perfect,” Emma answered with a ragged breath.

  Addison held Emma and caressed her back lovingly. “Em?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Not that I am complaining, but what brought that on?”

  Emma pulled herself up to look at Addison. “I really did miss you, Addy. I just needed to feel you close to me, I guess.”

  Addison understood. “Going to be hard to top that Christmas present,” Addison chuckled. Emma smiled. “What?”

  “I think the sprout just moved,” Emma said.

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, I think so,” Emma grinned. “Either that or you have talents I have yet to experience,” Emma laughed.

  Addison smiled. “I wish I could feel her.”

  Emma kissed Addison’s nose. “Her, huh?” Addison shrugged. “You will soon, honey. If it’s any consolation, it was really faint. Kind of like butterflies.”

  “Sprout just wanted to let you know she was there.”

  “I guess so,” Emma said as she fell back into Addison’s arms. “So, you think it’s a girl?” Emma asked.

  “I don’t know,” Addison said. “It doesn’t matter.”

  “Do you want to know?” Emma wondered.

  “Not really. Not unless you want to,” Addison said. “It doesn’t matter to me. Besides, I think it would be fun to pick names and not know which one we will get to use.”

  “Oh? Do you have a name in mind?” Emma asked.

  “I stink with girls’ names,” Addison said. “My favorite is Emma, and you won’t let me use that. I know.”

  Emma laughed. “How about this? You pick the boy name and I will choose the girl name and we will surprise each other.”

  “Uhh…you trust me that much?” Addison asked. “What if you hate the name that I pick?”

  “I’ll just call him sprout forever,” Emma laughed. “What about you? Do you trust me?”

  “As long as you don’t choose something like Gertrude we are fine.”

  “Oh, good then. Edwina?” Emma asked. Addison flinched. “Flora?”

  “I prefer Sprout,” Addison wrinkled her nose.

  “Oh. Hum. Hortense?” Emma asked.

  Addison pinned Emma to the bed. “Hortense?” Emma shrugged beneath Addison’s grip and started giggling. “Mm-hmm,” Addison said. She proceeded to begin dropping kisses down Emma’s body.

  Emma looked down at Addison. “Addy? What are you doing?” she started giggling again.

  “Well, keep firing off names. I will see what I can do about getting an answer from Sprout here.”

  “You are nuts, Addy.”

  “No, just really happy, Em,” Addison said honestly.

  “Me too,” Emma said.

  “Merry Christmas, Em,” Addison said. She kissed Emma’s tummy and smiled. “Merry Christmas, Sprout.”

  Emma laughed. “Okay, get up here and hold me so I can sleep. You know what this house is like on Christmas morning. Evan and Andrew will be yelling through the house at the crack of dawn.”

  “Hey! Next year we get to leave cookies for Santa with Rufus.”

  “Are we getting a dog?” Emma asked.

  “What you don’t like it? How about Horatio?”

  “Go to sleep, Addy,” Emma chuckled.

  “Archibald?”

  “Funny.”

  “I have never met a funny Archibald,” Addison offered.

  “Good night, Addy.”

  Addison chuckled. “Night, Em. Buford!”

  Emma whacked Addison lightly. No worries, Sprout. Your Momma is just a little silly. You’ll learn to love it. Unless she names you Enoch or something. Oh, God. She wouldn’t…

  Chapter Nine

  “Addy?”

  “Hey, you! How are you feeling?” Addison asked.

  Emma smirked. “Um. Well, a little lighter.”

  “What?”

  “My water just broke,” Emma said with a cautious smile. Addison stared at her. “Hello? Addy?”

  “Oh, shit! I mean…shoot…I mean…We have to go.”

  Emma laughed. “That might be a good idea, yeah.”

  “Are you okay?” Addison asked.

  Emma sighed. “I’m okay.”

  “Are you in pain?”

  Emma shook her head. “Not really, no.”

  “Em?”

  Emma shrugged. “I’m a little nervous,” she confessed.

  Emma’s admission served to immediately calm Addison’s nervous excitement. She wrapped her arms around Emma and kissed her forehead. Emma’s mood had been shifting a great deal the last few weeks. She moved from excitement to apprehension in an instant. Addison felt helpless at times. Everything in Emma’s pregnancy had been normal. Emma was healthy and by all accounts so was “Sprout” as they affectionately called their unborn child. It was a new experience and a new physical experience for Emma. Addison pulled back and looked at Emma compassionately.

  “Everything is going to be fine, Em. Just think, in a little while you get to meet Horace!”

  Emma snorted. “Unless, of course, Horace, turns out to me Minerva,” she returned.

  Addison was about to deliver a quick retort when Emma winced. “That would be the pain thing, right?” Addison guessed. Emma nodded and took a breath. “Okay then. Let’s go ladies.”

  “Ladies?” Emma asked as she watched Addison move to grab the bag they had packed. “Yeah? You and the sprout.”

  Emma shook her head. Somehow, Addison always knew the right thing to say at the right moment. “All right, Momma. Take us away,” Emma said with a nervous breath.

  “It’ll be okay, Em. Pretty soon we get to meet the sprout!”

  Emma smiled genuinely and patted her belly. Yes, we do.

  ***

  “No call yet?” Tom asked his wife. Sherry shook her head. “I’m sure she is fine, honey,” Tom assured his wife.

  Sherry sighed. “I know she is,” she said. “One more day and we would have been there,” Sherry said.

  Tom smiled at his wife. “Well, we will be there tomorrow and you will get to see them all.”

  Sherry nodded with a bright smile. “What do you think it will be?” she asked him.

  “Loved,” he said flatly.

  Sherry kissed her husband. “Best answer,” she said.

  ***

  “Come on, Em. You are doing great,” Addison encouraged Emma. Emma was exhausted. Nine hours of labor had been endless. The doctor kept saying “almost there.” Emma thought his definition of almost was a bit skewed. “One more, Em. Sprout is almost here.”

  “Sprout feels more like a tree,” Emma panted.

  Addison laughed in spite of the situation. She felt Emma grip her hand through another push. The sound of a voice startled her. It was immediately followed by a piercing cry. Emma looked at Addison. Addison’s eyes were focused on the bottom of the bed. “A girl?” she asked.

  The doctor laughed at the expression on Addison’s face. “Yes, Addison. You have a daughter. Would you like to do the honors and let her into this world formally? Cut the cord?”

  Emma squeezed Addison’s hand and smiled. “Go on.”

  Addison took a shaky step forward and looked at her daughter. She lost her breath and her heart in an instant, just as she had the first time Emma looked at her. She performed her appointed task and accepted the small bundle from the nurse in front of her, now wrapped tightly in a light blanket. She moved to Emma and put the baby in her arms. Emma’s tears immediately flowed over. “God, Addy. She’s perfect.”

  “Yeah. She totally is,” Addison agreed. She kissed Emma’s forehead. “So? Would you like to introduce us, Mommy? I mean…I would like to get to know Gertrude formally.”

  Emma sniggered. She kissed h
er daughter’s forehead and whispered to her. “I told you that your Momma here is a little silly. She grows on you,” she said lightly. She looked at Addison and back at their daughter. “Victoria, meet your Momma. Momma, meet Victoria Tamara Blake.” Addison could not seem to speak. “Addy?”

  “You named her after my mother?” Addison asked in wonderment. Emma smiled at her wife lovingly. “Em…”

  “She needs to have a part of her whole family, Addy. She has us. She deserves a little piece of the woman who gave her to me.”

  “I don’t understand…”

  “There would be no Victoria with you, Addy. Not for me. I wish I could hug your mom and thank her. I can’t. I can give you both this.”

  Addison kissed Victoria’s head and then kissed Emma tenderly on the lips. “You don’t know what that means to me.”

  “Yes, love—I do,” Emma said, reaching to wipe a tear from Addison’s cheek. “But, out of curiosity, what would we have called Sprout had she been a boy?”

  Addison pursed her lips. “Mm. If I tell you, then what happens with the next one?”

  “The next one? Addy, I love you, but trust me the last thing I want to think about for a while is the next one,” Emma said.

  Addison chuckled. “Doesn’t really matter, does it?” she asked. “Victoria is perfect.”

  Emma sensed there was a reason Addison was holding back. It was something, Emma was sure, that Addison hoped maybe one day she could surprise Emma with. Emma let it go. “Just tell me it wasn’t Cornelius.”

  Addison laughed. “What’s wrong with Cornelius?”

  “You have either watched too many Christmas specials or too much Hello, Dolly!”

  “Don’t listen to her, Vicki. She likes all those crazy vampire shows. You were probably almost named Buffy. Thank Grandma Blake in heaven for small favors.”

  Emma rolled her eyes and pulled Addison down for a kiss. “I love you, Addy,” she said emotionally.

  “I love you too, Em. More than you will ever know.”

  “More than Hello, Dolly?”

  “Don’t push it, honey,” Addison laughed. “Thank you,” Addison said.